By MATT PIKE
Alec Burleson drove in two runs and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 at Busch Stadium in the second game of the first half in the annual I-70 series.
The game was delayed by rain at the start by 46 minutes. Once the game got started, the Cardinals took the first lead of the game early in the bottom of the first with Burleson's first RBI of the game, a sacrifice fly driving in Iván Herrera for a 1-0 lead. Kansas City tied up the game in the fifth inning, Maikel Garcia hit a one-out double and scored on Vinnie Pasquantino’s two-out single to center field.
In the bottom half of the inning, St. Louis took the lead back for good. Thomas Saggese ended his 0-for-30 slump that was the longest active hitless streak in MLB with a leadoff single in the fifth inning. He scored the go ahead run on a fielder's choice by sliding safely at home as Victor Scott II reached first. A sacrifice fly by Masyn Winn, driving in Nathan Church, extended the lead for the Cardinals to 3-1.
Burleson's two-out RBI single in the eighth inning extended the lead to 4-1 as he brought home Winn to score. In the ninth inning, Jac Caglianone led off the inning with a home run off George Soriano for the final run, before Soriano went on to earn his second save of the season.
Kyle Leahy earned the win, improving to 5-3 on the season, pitching six innings in his first career start against the Royals, allowing one run on five hits while striking out two and walking three. Noah Cameron took the loss, dropping to 2-3, working six innings, giving up three runs on five hits with four strikeouts.
St. Louis has won four of its five games. Since Interleague play began in 1997, the Cardinals are 81-55 against Kansas City. The Royals have lost six in a row. Kansas City has lost 17 of its first 23 road games, the second-worst mark in the majors.
At the plate, for the Cardinals, Church was 2-for-3 with a double. Burleson was 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while Scott II was 2-for-3 with an RBI. For the Royals, Caglianone was 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Kyle Isbel was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, while Bobby Witt Jr was 1-for-3 with a walk.
Kansas City and St. Louis wrap up the first half of the I-70 series tomorrow. Stephen Kolak (1-0, 6.75 ERA, 9K's) starts for the Royals against Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.46 ERA, 33K's) for the Cardinals. First pitch is at 1:15pm, pregame will begin at 1:05 for St. Louis on KY 102 (102.5FM) and at 12:30 for Kansas City on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt.